Building a Broadband Nation: What’s Next for America’s Digital Infrastructure
On November 17–19, telecommunications industry leaders gathered at the Broadband Nation Expo in Orlando, Florida to discuss the future of connectivity in America. Sessions focused on the technologies, policies, and workforce needed to expand high-performance networks nationwide. TIA CEO Dave Stehlin elaborated on these themes in his keynote address, emphasizing that broadband drives economic growth, supports critical services, and connects nearly every aspect of daily life. To set the stage for what comes next, he reflected on how far broadband advanced in a relatively short time.
What Broadband Has Achieved
Charting the industry’s future requires understanding the scale of change already underway. The shift from analog, copper-based voice networks to today’s high-capacity fiber, advanced wireless systems, and satellite connectivity reflects decades of engineering progress and continuous investment.
As Stehlin pointed out, more than $2.2 trillion has been invested in U.S. communications infrastructure since the mid-1990s, with $90 billion invested in 2024 alone. These investments transformed customer experiences and the economics of connectivity. Internet speeds increased significantly while the cost per megabit dropped by 98 percent, laying the foundation for the modern broadband ecosystem. These gains continue to accelerate the next wave of innovation across the industry.
A Connected Future Accelerating Faster Than Ever
The pace of high-bandwidth, low-latency technology adoption rose sharply as broadband capacity and reliability improved. Electricity took decades to reach a quarter of the U.S. population, and telephone service followed a similar path. As Stehlin emphasized, the internet reached that milestone in only seven years, and recent advances in generative AI did so even faster. This rapid uptake highlights how high-performance networks enable new technologies, which then drive demand for even more advanced infrastructure.
Today’s network landscape combines wireline, wireless, and satellite systems into a single interconnected fabric supporting more than 5.5 billion global internet users. According to Stehlin, wireless networks carry more than 60 percent of all internet traffic worldwide (as of 2024), demonstrating the essential role of radio access and backhaul in daily life. These trends point to a future where data centers take on an increasingly central role.
Data Centers as the New Network Core
The rapid growth of AI and cloud workloads is placing data centers at the heart of digital infrastructure. These facilities, Stehlin explained, now function as the core of modern networks, processing traffic, supporting cloud services, and running the AI models driving new capabilities across every sector.
McKinsey projects global data center investment will exceed $6 trillion by 2030, driven by AI-centric architectures that require far greater computing density and substantially more energy capacity than earlier designs. As data centers scale, architectural complexity increases and the consequences of disruptions intensify. Operators, Stehlin said, must maintain high availability, strong security, and consistent operational practices, reinforcing the need for common frameworks to guide quality across a rapidly expanding ecosystem.
Why a Data Center Quality Standard Matters
TIA and its QuEST Forum community recently launched a new Data Center Quality initiative to address this requirement. The program, Stehlin explained, will establish a global standard built on Total Quality Management principles to guide reliability, security, and continuous improvement.
The initiative has already gained strong industry support. Leading hyperscalers and social media platforms are participating, and Google is working with TIA to help drive the effort. Stehlin emphasized that the momentum at Broadband Nation Expo signals a strong industry consensus: data centers must deliver performance and maintain trust as digital demand accelerates. However, key challenges remain that must be addressed to ensure sustainable, long-term growth.
What Still Needs Work
As broadband networks expand and data centers scale, workforce development remains a pressing priority. Network deployment, data center operations, and cybersecurity all depend on a strong pipeline of trained professionals, and states along with educational institutions are working to improve training programs and attract new talent. However, Stehlin noted that slow permitting continues to delay fiber builds, subsea routes, and infrastructure upgrades, impacting even well-engineered projects.
Security also demands constant attention as new technologies outpace existing protections. As Stehlin explained, subsea cable systems carry nearly all global traffic, and their landing points function as critical facilities that require more robust safeguards and improved operational practices.
Expanding the Broadband Nation Ecosystem
Stehlin closed his keynote by emphasizing how Broadband Nation brings technology providers, operators, and government partners together around a common purpose. Each group contributes to expanding access, improving reliability, and supporting the digital infrastructure powering the economy. He noted that TIA will continue advancing standards, workforce initiatives, and quality programs to help the industry design and deliver secure, high-performance networks.
